Carbon
What is Carbon?
The element Carbon exists in almost everything,
it makes up everything living thing
Carbon exists in several different forms including
Diamond, Graphite, and Fullerenes
Diamond
• There is no substance harder than diamond
• Diamond is carbon that has been highly
compressed and heated
• Each carbon atom in diamond is linked with 4
other carbon atoms by a covalent bond
Graphite
Although still made of Carbon, graphite has very
different properties
Graphite is extremely soft
In graphite, each atom of Carbon forms bonds
with three other carbon atoms
Fullerenes
• Discovered in 1985, fullerenes is a third form
of Carbon
• Fullerenes is found in soot after carbon
compounds have been burned
• The atomic structure looks like hollow spheres
Hydrocarbons
A hydrocarbon is an organic compound
consisting of only Carbon and Hydrogen
Hydrocarbons can be saturated or unsaturated
Saturated Hydrocarbons
All of the bonds in a saturated hydrocarbon are
single bonds
A saturated hydrocarbon contains the maximum
possible number of hydrogen atoms for each
carbon atom
Saturated Hydrocarbons cont.
• Saturated hydrocarbons have unique
properties
• These properties are based on the number of
Carbon and Hydrogen atoms and how they are
arranged
• They can be arranged in straight chains,
branched chains, or rings
Straight Chains of Hydrocarbons
• The number of carbon atoms and hydrogen
atoms in a straight chain affects the phase
state at room temperature
• Methane is a gas at room temp
• Octane is a liquid at room temp
Methane
Octane
Branched Chains of Hydrocarbon
Branched chains indicate isomers
An isomer is a compound with the same
molecular formula but different atomic structure
Butane (single chain) :
Isobutane (branched chain) :
Hydrocarbon Rings
Hydrocarbon rings have a structure that looks
like a ring
Unsaturated Hydrocarbons
• Unsaturated Hydrocarbons are classified by
their bond type and arrangement of Carbon
atoms
• Unsaturated Hydrocarbon contain one or
more double or triple bonds
Fossil Fuels
Some Hydrocarbons were formed from plants
and animals that lived in Earth’s oceans and
swamps millions of years ago
We call these fossil fuels
Fossil Fuels cont.
Three examples of fossil fuels are:
Coal
Natural Gas
Petroleum
Fossil Fuels cont.
Coal: A hydrocarbon that has a high ratio of
carbon to hydrogen
Natural Gas: Made of primarily methane
Petroleum: Made of long, branched carbon and
hydrogen
Fossil Fuel Combustion
• Energy from fossil fuels is released by
combustion
• These combustion reaction products are water
and carbon dioxide